Baseball Basics: An overview
The game of baseball is complex and is really difficult to understand if one has not followed it regularly for a long time. There are numerous rules which govern the game of baseball, however, there are exceptions to each rule and nothing is fixed as such.
Following are a few basic guidelines for a beginner.
Baseball is contested between two teams over nine innings of regular play. Each inning is split into top of the inning and bottom of the inning. The visiting team attempts to score runs in the top of the inning while the home team hits in the bottom of the
inning. The aim of each team is to add more runs than the other team. As the game cannot end as a tie, the game continues with additional innings played until a clear winner emerges.
The game starts when the pitcher, who stands at the mound, throws at the batter to initiate play. The batter, standing on the plate, attempts to connect the ball and keep it within the “foul lines” subsequently. The foul lines are extended from first base
and third base. The ball, when connected, should first land in front of these lines for a legitimate scoring opportunity.
The batter runs from the plate to first base after connecting the ball and can continue his walk to second base and third base if he can easily make it without being tagged out. One complete run requires the batter to run through all three bases and back
to the home plate without being getting out in the process. Each base is 90 feet away from the next.
If a hitter or a batter clears the outfield and the ball is within the foul lines, it is called a home-run. The batter can circle all four bases and complete his run. If all three bases are “loaded” when a home-run is hit, all four players will complete
their runs and it is termed as Grand Slam.
Each half of the inning allows three outs to a team. A team is comprised of nine players and have to follow a fixed batting order, however, there are a total of 25 players in the bull-pen and substitutions can be made but they cannot be reverted later.
A batter can be struck-out, flied out or put out. Each miss within the “strike zone” is termed as a strike and three strikes lead to a strike-out. The strike zone is above the knees of the batter, below the midpoint of the shoulders and waist of the batter
and above the home plate. The home plate is 17 inches wide.
However, if the pitcher does not throw within the strike zone, it is termed as a “ball” and four balls enable a batter to walk to first base without a chance to be out.
A batter can be put out if the fielding side touches the runner with the ball when he is not standing on the base. In some circumstances, the fielding side does not have to tag the player and can simply touch the base with the ball in hand when the runner
is approaching towards the base. In this scenario, the batter is said to be forced out.
A batter is said to be flied out when he connects the ball and the fielding side manages to catch his airborne hit without allowing it to bounce. The ball does not necessarily have to be in the “fair” territory. Some instances have seen fielders jump into
the stands to catch the ball and prevent a possible home-run and at the same time inflict an out to the batting side.
The views expressed in this article are the writer's own and in no way represent Bettor.com's official editorial policy.
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